[dramatic string music]
♪ ♪
- Wow.
So handsome.
- Shukran.
MAYSA: Even better than the photos online.
- Thank you, tant.
- Do you mind if I touch?
Ah.
[sighs] So great, strong definition.
Wow.
Muscle man.
Wow.
I'm sorry if my breath smells bad, you know.
I'm--I've been trying to quit smoking,
and I've been using these nicotine patches.
But inshallah, it will get better soon.
- Inshallah. It's not that bad, though.
- And the hair. Wow, these curls.
Bend down.
- Bend down to you?
[chair creaks]
MAYSA: Wow, nice curls.
Few just weak spots,
but the curls cover them so beautifully.
Great. That's it.
[chair creaks]
Yeah.
Perfect.
You're the perfect man.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- I had a friend.
She came to this country a few years before me.
She told me she was working for these guys,
helping with Hurricane Irene.
They needed people to clean.
It wasn't a bad job, if you don't have your papers.
I helped them with Hurricane Sandy
a few years later.
They paid me enough to live, to save a little.
Every time there was a storm, I cleaned,
different parts of the country.
The boss, Jeremy, he made a lot of money from the government,
but he stopped paying me.
Then he said he would pay if I did things with him,
but he still never pay.
- And do you think he did this with other women,
other undocumented people?
ISABELA: Yes, I do.
He told me if I say anything to anyone, he call ICE.
- Wow. Wow.
This is so good.
- So good?
- I mean, like, exactly how you said that,
that's--that's how you have to say it to Logan.
I know she's gonna love this.
We're gonna get you your visa, and then we're gonna prosecute.
- You are the best lawyer, Dena.
DENA: I'm not a lawyer yet, technically,
but I will be soon.
And we just have to get Logan to sign off
to officially take this on.
And, um, you're gonna be my first client
once I finish the bar.
ISABELA: [sighs]
- You've been through so much.
You--you have been treated so unfairly, and I'm--
I'm gonna make sure you get everything you deserve.
- Please, God, I hope.
- Hey, God can't prosecute like we can.
[dramatic string music]
♪ ♪
- So your daughter, uh, she will be back soon?
- Who knows?
- It's just, I thought I was going to be meeting her
because the dating profile was...her.
- Yes, the dating profile is hers,
but I manage it because she's very busy being a lawyer.
You see, she needs to find time for love.
FAROUK: Shit!
Fuck!
- Farouk, stop with the fucking cursing, okay? [speaking Arabic]
- All he cares about
is that bullshit land of his in Cairo.
- Bullshit land?
And, brother, just grab one of those brochures
in front of you and look inside of them
and tell me if what you see is bullshit land.
- It is bullshit.
- Imagine you work your ass out all your life in this country
for those business motherfuckers.
And then one day, you get to rest your head
in your homeland in luxury.
Would you not invest in something like that?
- Uh...
MAYSA: Dena, finally.
Yeah.
- What's happening?
MAYSA: Come. Come. Come.
Yalla. Go. Introduce yourself.
TAREK: Hi. Uh, my name is Tarek.
I met you online.
- Tell her what you do.
- Uh, uh, I'm a doctor.
Uh, I was a doctor in Egypt,
but, uh, here I have to take the test again.
- We met online?
- Uh, I'm sorry, maalesh. I--I thought you--
- Did you create a fucking dating profile for me?
- I--uh, maybe I should leave.
DENA: Yeah. - Yeah.
Leave, both of you.
Yalla. Go out. - No, no, no, no, no, Mom.
MAYSA: Get to know each other. - Mom, stop.
I am not trying to meet some random dude right now.
I need to study.
- Dena, you're aging.
What, you want to pay $22,000 to freeze your eggs,
or you want a free man?
This one is for free.
- Check his hair.
- Everyone here is insane.
- She's so beautiful.
Yalla, amshi. Go.
- This isn't gonna happen.
I don't do Muslim dating apps, and I don't care
about your halal-haram ratio.
Okay?
- Okay.
Uh, so are you a lawyer?
- I'm interning at a firm right now,
but I'm gonna take the bar next week,
so I have to study.
- Is it a good firm?
I've had many lawyers try and help me with my status.
They were all liars.
- This place isn't like that.
My boss really focuses on people in need,
immigrants, refugees.
- Alhamdulilah. We need this.
This country has many problems.
I wish there was more to protect these people.
- Mm-hmm. - Real Islam, real justice.
- Islam?
[laughs] Okay.
Religion is really what's keeping it calm and even.
That's good.
- Maybe you're right.
Maybe the time has come.
- What time?
- When the world is full of Muslims, but empty of Islam.
This was maktoub.
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.
Yeah, I--I really gotta go study.
- And I will study, too.
I have to prove to these Americans
I can fix their bodies.
DENA: Yeah. [receding footsteps]
- [sighs]
RAMY: I paid the man.
The muqaddam and the muakahar. I deserve to see Zainab.
- It's true.
You gave me the money,
and now you deserve to see Zainab.
RAMY: Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
- Because she's a prostitute.
RAMY: What?
- Zainab's company can be purchased with money
because she's a prostitute,
which I suppose makes me her pimp.
RAMY: No, that's not what I'm saying, man.
- It's what you believe, though, isn't it?
I can hear the entitlement in your voice.
You've got some very interesting beliefs
about women, brother.
Has it occurred to you that maybe Zainab doesn't want
to see you, and that this payment
doesn't change that fact,
that this was just your marital duty?
[laughs]
Salaam alaikum, brother.
MAYSA: Ramy, you don't have a shattafa,
only a bottle of water in the toilet?
- Yeah. Yeah, Ma. I just--I just moved.
I'm gonna--I'll get it.
MAYSA: Who was on the phone?
- You don't-- you don't know him.
MAYSA: Wow.
Look at this view.
Oh, my God.
How much do you pay here?
- You're not--you're not supposed to ask people that,
Ma. MAYSA: What do you mean?
You're not people. You're my son.
You're my Ramy.
What the fuck is this shit?
Do you smoke?
Like, Ramy, you cannot start smoking.
I just quit.
- I'm--I'm gonna quit, too.
I gotta go.
I got a bunch of shit I gotta do.
Can you just, uh, feed Boomer in, like, an hour?
- Feed the dog?
RAMY: Yeah, she's got food in the fridge.
There's, uh, organic stuff for dogs.
Don't feed her the human things.
It'll mess up her stomach.
- I just wanted to spend some time with you.
RAMY: Can you take her for a walk, please?
And just make sure that you pick up the shit.
It's not like our neighborhood.
Like, you can't just leave shit everywhere.
MAYSA: Pick up the shit?
- Yeah.
I love you.
- With my hands?
[door shuts]
Yalla. Come.
[sighs]
[dramatic string music]
♪ ♪
Uh, uh, ah.
PERSON: Is that Boomer?
Hi.
- I just picked it up. You can't report.
- Oh, no, no, no.
I just wanted to say hi to Boomer.
She's such a good dog.
You know, I've always been a-scared of dogs,
but she's made me want to get one.
You're Ramy's grandma?
I really love your grandson.
He helped me get this necklace for my girlfriend.
Um, at least, I hope she's going to be my girlfriend.
That's the plan with the necklace.
Right? That's the plan.
- You think I'm Ramy's grandma?
PERSON: What?
- I am not his grandmother.
PERSON: Oh, okay, I'm sorry. I--yeah, I--
- He's my son, motherfucker.
- Even better. That's great.
- Fuck ass.
Come!
DENA: I really don't think you're supposed
to wear multiple patches at the same time.
- Did you call him?
DENA: Who?
- Barack Obama. Who?
Tarek.
- No. I already told you.
- Habibti. - Hmm?
- Someday, sooner than you think, everything will change.
You have to take the chances while you're young,
before your uterus becomes an egg graveyard.
- What the fuck?
- Graveyard of eggs.
Yeah, Dena, call him.
Come.
ISABELA: I clean houses by myself.
My daughter--she's young.
She will help me but... LOGAN: Mm.
ISABELA: She was diagnosed with cancer.
I don't have the money to take care of her.
He still never paid.
He said he can't.
He said he is not in this business anymore,
and now he owns buildings in New York.
- Can you believe this?
- Hmm.
Yeah.
ISABELA: Uh, Dena has been so kind to me, hearing my story.
She said once she becomes officially a lawyer,
you both help me.
[laughs] I feel so hopeful again.
I knew God would help me.
I am so happy to meet you and to be represented by you.
- I'm really sorry to hear what you've been through.
Would you give us a moment, Isabela?
- Oh, sure.
[door shuts]
- So what do you-- LOGAN: What are you doing?
- What?
LOGAN: Why are you wasting this woman's time?
- Wasting her time?
- Dena, it's hard enough
to get someone like her a U visa.
You talked to her about prosecution,
about getting her money back?
- This man is an abuser, and he has power.
He was one of those fucking Trump contractors.
Look, I spoke to people who worked with her,
corroborated her story.
LOGAN: What was your plan,
to bring her in here right before your exam,
then I hire you,
and you get some great big story?
This isn't a case.
It's a journalistic piece, maybe.
If you wanted to help this woman,
you should have told someone to help you
to submit an application.
- But I-- LOGAN: I don't even know
why you thought it was okay to consult someone.
You're not licensed to give any legal advice.
You're supposed to be studying for your exam.
[somber music]
♪ ♪
- Dena, maybe you should slow down a little bit.
You don't want to take the bar exam hungover, do you?
- She screwed over an immigrant with a kid who has cancer.
Just, like, let her drink.
- Dude, stop judging her.
You literally hook up with married men.
- Okay, I provide them with a service.
- [sighs] It's probably not a serious cancer.
- Yeah, it's probably, like, just a mild one.
- It's not.
AZAM: Yeah, I guess you don't really hear
about kids with, like, prostate cancer.
♪ ♪
HEBA: [sighs] I'm gonna go get some rest
for tomorrow's exam.
Yalla, Dena, let's go.
- [sighs] Um, I'm gonna go in a bit.
I'll get a car.
♪ ♪
[phone trilling]
MAYSA: Hi, it's Maysa.
- Did my daughter call?
- Okay.
TAREK: She's really special.
I love the way she thinks.
- No, she thinks of all the wrong things.
You see, I worry about her because she doesn't know
how fast life goes by.
This life, when it's over,
will feel like that too.
- It's so nice, talking to you.
You see, Farouk and I don't talk that much.
I mean, it pisses me off, but, like, we have nothing
really to say to each other.
- That sounds really lonely, Maysa.
MAYSA: You should have seen me when I was young.
You wouldn't believe it.
But now, if I want to attract someone,
I just have to use the picture of my daughter.
Tarek, I am so confused.
I have so much love for her.
When I see her, I only want good things for her,
and at the same time, I am competitive and jealous,
and I just want to beat her.
You see, I wonder if all moms are like this
or if I'm just a bad mama.
TAREK: I don't think that's true.
That you could only attract someone with a picture
of your daughter.
In fact, I know that's not true.
- Thank you.
So, Tarek, what are you doing tonight?
- Yes, you, tonight.
What are you doing?
[phone line beeping]
TAREK: Maysa? - Yes.
She wants to hang out tonight.
- Oh.
Great.
[knock at door]
- Dena, I'm so happy you called.
- Mm-hmm.
- Um, what are you feeling like doing?
There's a great diner.
[speaking Arabic] - Yeah.
[moaning]
- [speaking Arabic]
- Who are these guys?
- Do you guys all live in the same room together?
- Can they just leave?
BOTH: [moaning]
TAREK: Dena? DENA: Mm-hmm?
TAREK: Dena? - Yeah?
TAREK: Dena, we have to slow down.
- What?
- [breathing heavily] You know why.
DENA: Tarek...
It takes the shape of where it's at.
And right now, we're in America.
Sex just has a different flow here.
Everything does.
- I know, but-- DENA: No, no, no, listen to me.
Listen to me. You came here
because you wanted something different.
I know you did.
Otherwise, you would have just stayed in Egypt.
[sighs] It's like I'm not just some random white girl.
You met my mom.
- [exhales]
TAREK: [speaking Arabic]
- Oh, shit.
I slept for, like, a second.
It's so late.
TAREK: You're leaving?
- Yeah, I have this exam in a few hours.
- But I thought we could talk about what happened.
- Yeah, sure.
I'm gonna-- I'm gonna call you.
- What? [laughs]
Um, dude, don't say that.
TAREK: What we did last night--
I have never done this before.
I never give in to it.
- Okay.
[sighs] Um...
TAREK: But I've been praying.
[speaking Arabic]
If we say we'll get married, then maybe,
maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
DENA: Yeah. - Maybe.
- [sighs] Just...
I had a really bad day, you know.
There's this kid with cancer and--
- Ya Allah. Ya Allah.
- Hey, dude, hey, hey, it's okay.
- I allowed myself to be seduced by the devil.
[door shuts]
[shower running]
Wallahi, I didn't even close my eyes.
I was so worried, Dena,
because I know that you had your exam today,
and I was hoping that you are studying
and you're not just having fun with your friends
and not taking care about any other thing.
But anyway, it's all to say good luck for today.
You should really succeed that exam.
Like, you have to succeed that exam.
Because you have to become a lawyer, you understand?
You have to become something important in life.
And, uh...
yalla.
Bye. [line clicks]
[apprehensive music]
♪ ♪
[water bubbling]
FAROUK: Dena, you're back so early.
DENA: Um... - You finished your exam?
- I just have a bit of a headache.
so I'm gonna go upstairs.
- Of course you finished fast, because you are so clever.
- [sighs]
FAROUK: I just want to tell you I am so proud of you.
You're going to be a lawyer.
- Yeah.
FAROUK: You know, when your mom was pregnant with you,
I prayed to God that it would be a son, just like Ramy.
And then they told us it was a girl,
and I was so disappointed. [laughs]
I didn't know what to do.
But now I know I was wrong.
I know that this has been a gift.
Look at you, habibti.
Dena, you are my son.
You are the real son.
Come here. DENA: I, uh--
Uh, thanks.
- Um...this is a thumb drive.
I prepared all my presentations
that I used to do at work in it.
And it's for you.
Presentations, proposals...
- You want me to get you a job?
- Yeah.
FAROUK: I am so proud of you.
You have such a career ahead of you.
[ethereal music]
♪ ♪
- Nabil...
I think Farouk and Maysa's daughter
is cleaning our house.
Wallahi, I swear.
♪ ♪